Originally posted by Shreko76
I was thinking that the SARS epidemic could be a virus created to elimanate the overflowing populations rates in Asia

They don't need it.

You see, their birth rate is dropping because they are limited in the number of children they can have and since boys are very desirable (and girls
aren't -- and hence are abandoned, killed, or aborted), they have now created a situation where many men can't find a woman to marry. So the
cultural preference is doing a far better job of it than anything else.

Not everyone is in agreement that this is a bio weapon I was going to post on this a little earlier but I think I will post a few links on this now.
One of things that has me a little worried at this point is Fort Detrick bio labs is now working on the virus. here is the link and the story,

Scientists hoping a cure is already on the shelf will test at least 2,000 drugs against the frightening SARS virus, although some doubt anything they
find will stop the flu-like disease once it gets a foothold.

This search is intended to find an immediate therapy for severe acute respiratory syndrome, or one that could be developed quickly. There is now no
proven cure, only treatment that relieves symptoms.

Scientists are almost positive SARS is caused by a newly discovered member of the coronavirus family. Until now, these bugs have been known only to
trigger colds or mild diarrhea, so no one has ever tried very hard to find a treatment.

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases is gathering up the 30 or so antiviral drugs on the market, about 800 drugs approved for
other uses, plus more than 1,000 that are still being developed.

They are being tested at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md.

Quarantine ordered at Hong Kong complex

The lab can test 150 to 200 a drugs week and has started with the most obvious antiviral medicines. But so far, "nothing looks very promising, to be
honest," Army research scientist Peter Jahrling said Wednesday.

At the same time, another team at the University of Virginia hopes soon to enroll SARS victims to test a two-drug strategy already used by some
doctors in Hong Kong and Canada, although many are skeptical it will work.

Furthermore, experts expect much more study of the virus. Scientists will be looking for weaknesses in the bug that might be exploited, as well as a
better understanding of how the immune system responds to it. Some experts believe the body's own defenses are part of the problem.

Deciphering the virus' innermost workings might in the end lead to the most effective drugs. But designing a medicine from scratch is a slow and
daunting process, requiring years of testing.

"It's a fact of life we can't get around that from the design of a drug on a computer to the point where it can be given to people takes at the
very best five years. We hope something will come along in this process that will prove to be effective," said Dr. Catherine Laughlin, virology chief
at the infectious disease institute.

About 50 drug companies took part in a recent conference call with the institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and several said
they had compounds in development that they would like try against SARS.

"This clearly isn't a market for anybody, but people feel if they have drugs on hand that can help, they want to make them available," Laughlin
said.

Even if a drug knocks out the virus, it still might not cure SARS. In some infections, much of the damage results from the overwhelming chemical
counterattack by the immune system. This cytokine storm, as its called, is intended to kill the virus. But it can have unintended consequences, such
as inflammation, leaky blood vessels and even pneumonia, a hallmark of SARS.

"The infection comes on so quickly and you get so sick so fast that it's unlikely that an antiviral will be rapidly effective," said Dr. John Zaia,
virology chairman at City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. "It may be that the virus has started a process that cannot be
stopped."

Still, experiments in animals, which have their own versions of the coronavirus, suggest that stopping the virus may help, even when the disease is in
full force.

"It all depends on what the virus is doing," damaging the lungs directly or triggering an immune system backlash, said Dr. Mark Denison, a
coronavirus researcher at Vanderbilt University. "If it's the virus causing tremendous damage by its growth, and you interfere at midpoint, you
might make quite a dramatic difference for the person."

Dr. Frederick Hayden of the University of Virginia hopes to lead a test of the drug ribavirin, an antiviral medicine, and steroids, which tamp down
the immune system. Ribavirin is used to treat respiratory syncytial virus, a major cause of pneumonia in infants.

Doctors in Hong Kong and Canada say the combination may help, although there is no experimental proof of that. In Hayden's federally financed study,
people with moderate SARS will be given either ribavirin or dummy medicine, and those seriously ill will be randomly given a steroid, as well.

While agreeing the strategy needs to be tested, several experts hold out little hope it will make much difference. "Many clinicians have tried
ribavirin," said CDC head Dr. Julie Gerberding. "I don't think it looks real promising for that to be a solution."

Among the drugs being tested at the Army lab are a wide range of compounds intended to stop viruses from making new copies of themselves. Although
virtually all of these drugs were tailored for other viruses, the researchers said there is a chance they might work on coronavirus, too.

If a coronavirus drug must be designed from the ground up, scientists say the virus offers several possible targets in its life cycle. Similar
strategies have led to treatments for AIDS and herpes, among other viral diseases.

At least one company says it may be able to produce a new drug fast. AVI BioPharma in Portland, Ore. uses a technique that disables viral genes and
has already made experimental drugs for coronaviruses that cause illnesses in cats and lab mice.

Using the same technology, officials say they should be able to make a drug that would attack the SARS virus within a week of receiving its genetic
code, which the CDC hopes to finish reading soon.

Scientists in Vancouver yesterday broke the genetic code of the virus suspected of causing Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the first step
toward developing a test for doctors to diagnose victims and developing a possible vaccine.

Vancouver scientists' claim was also made over the weekend by a group of H.K. scientists.
Everyone is hoping that there is just one SARS and both teams have the same illness.
Claims on having "identified" it have been proliferating since it was "identified" as a coronavirus two weeks ago.

Look at the deaths and divide that into the population and multiply it by 100.. Know what that is? The percenatge of worldwide fatalities..More people
are killed by lightning for crying out loud.. so put the panic horn back in the closet and pull it out when Syria is attacked.. that will be the real
event to cause loss of human life.... Get real folks.. sheesh

LOL.. (Forgot this part)

I know a person that has a friend that knows someone who's mother knows someone that has a friend in the world that flys that sat next to someone
that knows someone that was sick who knows someone that ate a pickle that went to college with someone who knows someone that met a person that read
the enquire who saw an article on SARS!

I was listening to the news tonight and they (the alphabet guys) were saying that the SARS strand in the US isn't as deadly as it is in the Far East
and Canada. Though not as severe it isn't fully contained.

I'm not sure it is quite "paranoia" -although it has to be admitted, still, that crossing the road in Beijing is more likely to be terminal than
SARS.
We've had a combination of factors: worries about WMD (remember all the post 9-11 anthrax nonsnse, then ricin, sarin and Gawd knows what else.
The Iraq conflich sort of short-changed the drivel- mongers of the media: they looked very silly, very often and "embedding" certainly worked for
the military. So they had to find "news": put the "military experts" back into cold storage and bring on the microbiologists.
And the Chinese Govt. has done itself no great favours in its attitude to publicity.
Nevertheless, it is distinctly worrying and I can asure you that foreigners in China are getting very, very worried. (not as bad as Canada however,
it appears)

Someone mentioned that SARS is probably not an engineered disease due to its low fatality rate (3-5%).

I would suggest that if it has been engineered, it has simply been geared towards a particular demography, such as senior citizens and the
post-WW2 baby-boomer generation. Considering the immense drain this demography will produce on the world's health and welfare agencies, a nation or
group might assume a more proactive stance - solving the problem before it occurs.

Mind you, this is a conspiracy board. And I am feeling particularly imaginative tonight.

It's certainly hotted up with the banning of the New Year holiday (this is a technically Marxist country and it's a bit like banning Yom Kippur in
Israel or Easter at the Vatican)
It's far to late of cousre: the time for a ban was the Chinese New Year when -officially -SARS didn't exist (even though it's been in the rumour
mill in Guangdong since October.)
Schools and businesses are starting to close down in Beijing and Shanghai and I've just spent a day crisis-managing.
It doesn't help that we've had a long and unusually severe winter so everyone has half of the symptoms, anyway!
If anyone has people out here: I can assure you that the British, American and Canadian embassies have been very helpful. (I'm sure the others have
too but we only have Brits, Yanks and canadians at my place)

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